@forumbluegold: Nets score 16 then 17 points in the 3rd and 4th quarters.

"The first time I ever saw my uniform hanging in the locker I put it on right away, and it just felt like I was putting on golden armour. From that day forward, I just called it 'the golden armour', it just felt like there was something mystical and magical about it" - Kobe Bryant.

Weezy wrote:'Antoni already has the LA media loving him, handled that press conference well. Of course it was a win, so that made it easier I'm sure.

Dweezy. he took mike's D and isn't giving it back.

I'm not giving him that "D" until I see a larger sample size. Tonight was a good sign in the 2nd half though, we didn't play like the 'Antoni Suns at all, we played more like the 2010 Lakers that had to find ways to win ugly playoff games.

I missed tonight's game, how were MDA's rotations? Any different than under Bernie?

"Let me say one more thing about Kobe. He will be the best player in the history of the game. If he keeps doing what he's doing, there is no stopping him. He is that good." - Shaquille O'Neal in his autobiography, "Shaq Talks Back"

The Original 81 wrote:I missed tonight's game, how were MDA's rotations? Any different than under Bernie?

Not really as far as I remember, only difference was Jamison only got 9 minutes. Hill played the same, 17 minutes, second unit if I remember right was Duhon, Meeks, Jamison, Hill and either Dwight or Pau. Still 39 minutes for Kobe, Pau and Metta, 41 for Dwight, too much starters, bench gave us next to nothing.

It's been a couple years since I said this but the laker coach tonight outcoached the opposing teams coach. Avery has a lot of talent on that team but down the stretch it was Kobe guarding Dwill and Howard guarding Lopez. Those changes, IMO, won us the game. Lopez was doing pretty well against Gasol earlier on but Howard ended that, and man, seeing Kobe guard Dwill was a thing of beauty.

I can't wait to see Nash back but seeing Kobe run point guard makes me wonder what D'antoni could do with Kobe and Gasol without Nash. The opposing teams defense was put under so much pressure from both Kobe and Gasol excellent passing skills. You just had this feeling that a lob to Dwight or a 3 by metta was going to happen with every possession.

Well.... these rotations are temporary considering they are missing valuable minutes from Nash and a few from Blake.

I liked the ball movement at times and the ball action off the P&R.... the most impressive thing though over the last couple of games is the reduction in TOs...... that will be the key to the success of this team. The less that are created and the more this team forces their opponent to play against their set defense the more difficult they will become to beat. I hope the FT wows won't be that low, this game was closer than it could have been without shooting 33% from the FT line for most of the game.

Once Nash returns it should get even smoother and easier for Bryant, he is playing at an amazing level with the additional spacing the new starting 5 have created. He's allowing the game to come to him more and forcing it less which is translating well. I imagine Bryant's minutes will come down some with Nash back, he was visibly gassed by the end of this game.

"If the wolf is the strength of the pack, the pack is the strength of the wolf"

Yeah, Kobe is great but he has to do too much now. Once Nash comes back evrything will be easier. We'll get some bench minutes and scoring from Morris and Duhon, but having a player who can score reliably off the bench would be nice.

"It's not realistic to get younger and better when you only have the veteran's minimum to offer free agents."

With our lack of depth and backcourt injuries...I don't think there's a choice. Hopefully as the weeks go by, we get back the Steves, and Pringles coaches up guys like Meeks, finds hidden talent on the roster, or we have to actually bring in some shooters.

Same story every single season ... Kobe minutes are supposed to be managed but it's not happening ... the way this team depends on a player in his 17th season , as great as he is , is kind of pathetic ..

wcsoldier81 wrote:Same story every single season ... Kobe minutes are supposed to be managed but it's not happening ... the way this team depends on a player in his 17th season , as great as he is , is kind of pathetic ..

I think Pringles will eventually get the minutes lowered, once Nash returns he'll have another guy that can effectively (obviously) run the ship when Kobe is out offensively. Right now judging from the chunks of games Ive been able to watch, IMO only Duhon really comes close to doing a decent job of it outside of those two.

Pringles isnt a fool, he knows eventually he'll have to keep Kobe's (and others) PT in check. Even with Nash being the expert on MDA's offensive schemes, Kobe and Dwight are still by far the most important players on the team.

"Come hell or high water we're gonna be there again. Its just something about the Lakers organization. Mitch is really, really good at it, he's really really good man...."